Taming Blaze (19 page)

Dani stood on her toes, kissing me.  I ran my hands over her breasts, down her flat stomach.  She took me by the hand and led me to the bed without a word, pulling me down to her.  I kissed her hard, wanting her more than anything.  This girl had crawled under my skin, and I didn’t want to let her go.  Dani moaned, her hand on my cock, guiding me inside.  If only she knew what it did to me, hearing her like that, those little moans, the sounds she made when s
he came on me.  It wrecked me.

I moved inside her, and she grabbed the back of my neck, clawed at my shoulders.  I felt the heat from her body, her skin slick with sweat.  I watched her, the way she scrunched up her face when she got close, how
she panted, reminding me of an animal in heat.  This girl owned me, and she knew she owned me.  When she came, I lost it, my climax erasing everything else in the world, nearly blinding in its intensity.

Afterward, I drew her to me, her head nestled in the crook of my arm as we lay there in this huge room in Benicio’s place.  Dani looked up at me, her eyes wide,
face flushed from her orgasm.

“I’m worried about tomorrow,” she said.

I kissed her forehead.  “Don’t worry about it.  Everything is going to be all right.”

“Are you ready for this?” I as
ked.  Dani’s face looked pale.

“Yeah,” she said.  “It’s no big deal.  I do this kind of shit every day.”

I tucked my piece in the small of my back.

“Where’s my gu
n?” Dani asked.

“You don’t need a weapon,” I said.  “You’re going to be out there, talking to your dad, and then you move back to the warehou
se where you’re safe.  Safer.”

"I'm not going there without a weapon.  It's crazy."

"Do you know how to use one?"  The last thing I wanted was for her to get herself shot.

Dani looked at me, her lips pursed.  “Of cour
se I fucking know how to handle a weapon.  My fa- Guillermo raised me around weapons.  I’m an expert shot."

“
Okay, ma’am,” I said.  "Let's get you a weapon."

I rode into the parking lot, the bike rumbling beneath me, Dani’s arms wrapped tightly around me, her breasts pressed up against my back.  In any other situation, that would have made me instantly hard.  But this wasn’t any other situation.  I had an uneasy feeling about this, like we were walking into a trap.  Our plan was far from foolproof,
and was based entirely on the assumption that Guillermo did not know I’d come back with Dani, or that the club was colluding against him.

Benicio had made a call to Guillermo
and told him he wanted to meet, that he was willing to trade everything- all the money- for a shot at knowing his daughter.  For Guillermo to buy Benicio’s story, he would have to think Benicio was a total sap.  He’d have to believe the man was still so much in love with Dani’s mother that it clouded his judgment.  I wasn’t sure if he would believe that or not.  I was hoping my feelings about Dani weren’t clouding
my
judgment.

“It’s like the O.K. Co
rral or something,” Dani said.

“Yeah, if it had been a
ll bikers at the O.K. Corral.”

Guillermo was there, surrounded by six of his meatheads, six that I counted anyway.  I wondered if he had others stashed someplace else, the way we did.  He would if he were smart.  The club was supposed to do a sweep of the area this morning, but I wondered how thorough they’d been.  Some of the prospects were morons who couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag without directions. 
I expected Benicio and the club to be roll up here any minute now.

I turned to Dani.  “You remember what to do, right?”

She nodded, her face tense.

“Ok, let’s go.”

I couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride when Dani opened her mouth, playing her part well.  “Daddy, what the fuck is going on here?” Her words practically dripped with outrage.  “First I get stuck in some shithole with this biker, and now I’m brought to the middle of nowhere?  Someone needs to tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“Dani,” Guillermo said, reaching toward her, and I feared he would hug her and find the w
eapon.  She drew back sharply.

“Don’t-” she said.  “Just don’t.  This is it.  I want answers.  Did you find the man who killed my mother?  Is that why we’re here?  I want him to pay.”

“Yes,” Guillermo said.  “He’ll pay.”

“I want to see him dead,” she said, sounding angry.  I knew the anger was genuine.

“That can be arranged,”  Guillermo said as he turned to me.  “Where are your guys?”

“They should be here soon.”  As if on cue, I heard the rumble of engines, and a line of Harleys rolled in, one after the other- ten of the club members,
with Mad Dog at the helm.  Mad Dog sauntered up, with Axe beside him and Tank and Tiny following.

“Brother,” Mad Dog said, greeting me as if he hadn’t seen me last night.  “It’s good to have
you back.”

He turned to Guillermo.  “I’ve brought my men.  They’re prepare
d in case anything goes down.”

Guillermo nodd
ed.  “He should be here soon.”

“You want us to take care of him, Boss?” Mad Dog asked.

“I’ll be the one to do it.  I want to watch him die.”

“Aren’t you going to tell me what’s going on, Daddy?  Who killed my mother?”  Dani’s voice cracked, and
for a second I worried she might be too emotional, too close to all of this.

I held back with the rest of the club while Guillermo took Dani’s hand, and walked away with her, out of earshot.  I glanced at Mad Dog, and he shook his head, the movement barely perceptible.  My heart was racing. 
He wouldn’t kill her,
I thought. 
He’s telling her that Benicio is her mother’s killer.  That’s it. 
But I knew Guillermo was dangerous and not to be trusted.  I was hoping we had accurately predicted his moves.

Dani’s hand went to her mouth, and
then she wiped away tears, stormed away from her father.  I saw her take up position ten feet or so away, crying. 
Good girl.

When Benicio’s cars pulled up, Guillermo’s expression changed from one of quiet anticipation to seething rage,
his his neck flushing red as he waited for Benicio to get out.  Benicio stepped out, escorted by six of his bodyguards. 
Good,
I thought.  Guillermo had asked us to bring ten guys, so we made sure Benicio brought fewer men.  Guillermo needed to think he had the upper hand.  He needed to believe Benicio was operating based only on emotion.  Our entire plan counted on him underestimating his younger brother.

“Guillermo.” Benicio greeted him as if they were regular business associates and not mortal enemies.  I moved in behind Benicio, a few feet away, taking position.  Guillerm
o thought that my position was protecting him. He would be mistaken.

“Benicio.  You’ve brought the account information?” Guillermo asked.

Benicio nodded, gesturing toward one of his bodyguards who held a laptop.  “You brought Dani?  I’m not giving you any of this unless she knows you were willing to trade her for cash.”

“She’s here.”

“Does she know?” Benicio asked.

“Know which part?”

“That you’re the one who killed her mother,” Benicio said.  “That you’re the one she should hate, not me.  That you were willing to give her up for the money.”

Guillermo shrugged.  “She’s
here.  She probably does now.”

Shit was going to hit the fan
.
I could feel it.  We were trusting that Benicio had done what he said he had done and turned Guillermo’s bodyguards.  That was a big thing to have to take on faith.

Mad Dog cleared his throat, and I knew he was tensed up
and ready to move.  We were all on edge.  My senses were heightened, like they always were in this kind of situation.  As much as I liked the calm of my cabin retreat, I lived for shit like this- being on the edge, the adrenaline coursing through my body. 
The thrill of the hunt.

I saw Dani walking up from the warehouse.  “Is this the man who killed my mother?”

“She didn’t hear you,” Benicio said.  “Explain it, Guillermo.  Explain it to her, and I will complete the transfer.”

“Explain what?” Dani asked.  “No one’s explained any
thing to me.  I want answers.”

“Complete the transfer and I’ll do it,” Guillermo said.

Benicio nodded toward the man with the laptop, and he tapped the keyboard.  “It’s done,” he said.  “Now, tell her.”

Guillermo turned, positioned between them.  “Y
our uncle here stole from me.”

“The money was mine.
”  Benicio said.

“I’m not talking about the money.”  Guillermo’s voice was filled with rage.  “He took what was rightfully mine- yo
ur mother.  You were mine, Dani, not his.  So was your mother.  And she thought she could just walk away.”  He was ranting now, starting to sound crazy.

I looked at Mad Dog, and he shook his head. 
Wait.

“He messed with her head,” Guillermo said.  “He told her things about me, turned her against me.  That w
as why I had to bring her here.  I had to take her away from him.  I gave her everything.  Everything.  I gave you everything you could have ever wanted, even though you were
his.
”  He practically spit out the word
his,
voice dripping with contempt.

I watched Dani for a sign she was about to break down, but she just stood there, her face stony.

“And still she pined away for him.  He was in prison serving a twenty year sentence, and still your mother could not let him go.”  Guillermo began pacing, his movements erratic, and I held my breath, watching Dani step back.  Fear flashed across her face.  I wanted to step in.  I wanted to pull my weapon, take out Guillermo, and be done with this.  I wanted to protect her.

“I don’t understand,” Dani said.  “You killed her.  You killed my mother?”

“She was leaving.  Don’t you see?” Guillermo said, his voice thick.  “Leaving me, after all I’d done for you.  After I had raised my brother’s child.  She had no sense of gratitude, no sense of loyalty.  I did everything for you- everything.  And she just threw it all away.  For
this.
”  He turned toward Benicio, his face a mask of rage.  “This.”